The White House has just concluded its first LGBT health summit, so you’d think President Obama might be ready to “evolve” a little bit more on gay marriage.
Or, you know, talk about it at least?
Nope! According to the Advocate, White House press secretary Jay Carney shot down questions from reporters about Washington State’s recent acceptance into the marriage-equality club—and also declined to comment on the matter of Governor Chris Christie‘s impending veto of same-sex marriage legislation in New Jersey.
Said Carney:
How about we take this to the next level?
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“I would say only broadly, as I have said in the past, without weighing into individual states and their actions, that this president strongly supports the notion that the states should be able to decide this issue, and he opposes actions that take away rights that have been established by those states.”
Yeah, yeah, “states’ rights.” But Nancy Pelosi is already talking about putting federal marriage equality on the national Democratic Party platform. When are you going to step up to the plate, Barack?
Photo: Elizabeth Cromwell
jason
I thought gay men’s health issues were the same as everybody else’s. We’re not special and nor should we pretend to be. Let’s stop playing the “poor little gay me with my health issues” card. Face it, we’re just the same as everybody else.
The summit overall is pure political pandering by the Obama administration towards the UGI’s (Useful Gay Idiots) who like to think they are important but are simply being manipulated.
ryanthehulk
How much do you want to bet that he will support full marriage equality during the
first year of his second term when he doesn’t have to worry about reelection anymore?
WillBFair
@ryanthehulk: Of course he will. It’s called political strategy, something our community doesn’t understand.
Oh, ok.
@ryanthehulk: Why would he do it before and not get reelected? I can assure you Hillary or McCain wouldn’t have done it at all.
Steve
President Obama is playing politics. He knows that endorsing “marriage equality”, or “gay marriage”, will bring right-wingers out of the woodwork for the election later this year, but will not bring Democrat supporters out in similar numbers. So, he cannot use those words.
He can and should commit to “equal protection under the law”.
Some of the right-wingers might not like “equal protection under the law”, but they would have a very difficult time arguing against it.
Ronbo
If I take the President’s position on inter-racial marriage (states rights) then, I’d need to void his marriage to a black women. Remember, he is mixed race 50% white. We can’t allow such things in a state’s rights environment!
He is a hypocrite and a dick. May both of his two daughter be lesbian. But, unfortunately, black surpasses and supercedes gay. Bigot.
Ryan
@Ronbo: He’s not a bigot. Read the other comments and open your mind a little bit. He can’t do ANYTHING for the community if he’s not in office again. And laying low on the issues while STILL supporting our community is the best thing he can do. And it’s the SMARTEST thing he can do. And it’s what he should be doing.
Dave
I agree Ronbo, Obama is not any sort of fierce advocate for LGBT rights and he never has been!
Most LGBT people are majorly pissed off at him and his administration as we should be and we don’t want to vote for him since he’s just going to tell more BS and promises that are never going to happen.
Drew
Obama is not a “fierce advocate” for LGBT rights even if he and the Obamabots want to pretend that he is I’m not going to support him or vote for him for re-election even though I did support him during his candidacy for presidency. He and his administration actually defended DOMA and did their BS “Gawd’s in the mix” speech which was a slap in the face to all LGBT people, and LGBT youth, and if it wasn’t for the Pentagon and top military brass DADT would not have finally been abolished because the non-discrimination clause which was included Patrick Murphy’s DADT bill was taken out by the Obama administration and that was the bill that was passed. Obama could have stopped the witch hunts and discharges of gay, bisexual, and lesbian military servicemembers but did nothing, and bisexual, lesbian, and gay male service members of the military were still kicked out.
jj
Would you people just wait until his second term. I have a feeling obama will make some big changes that will piss off a lot of republicans.
Ronbo
@jj: JJ, I’ve been waiting at the back of the bus for over 50 years. Obama brought promise; but, we are still at the back of the bus. Notice that he has enforced DOMA more fiercly than Bush.
Obama must be forced into signing any and all gay equality legislation. Pelosi was our hero with DADT repeal. Obama sought to table it. That is the fact. When Pelosi was able to move the house Obama followed.
I’ll eat every one of my shoes if Obama leads on providing marriage equality. And I have a lot of shoes. He has a clear track record of manipulating and signing mostly Republican legislation. Don’t forget…
Obama signed permanent incarceration of Americans without trial.
Obama increased the budget for war three years in a row.
Obama expanded our drone wars and drone assassinations.
Obama stopped all investigations against the Bush Administration war mongers.
Obama extended the Bush tax cuts for the rich.
Obama pushed health insurance NOT healthcare.
Obama removed the public option, single-payer AND medical co-ops.
Candidate Obama talks like JFK and President Obama is to the right of Richard Nixon.
You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind to think that with this record, Obama would do anything that is progressive or promotes equality.
T.C.
Well said Ronbo!
It’s clear to folks like you and most other GLBT people who are fed up with lies and empty promises Obama that he’s NOT for equality of GLBT people and he’s not going to actually do anything to really help gay men, bisexuals of both genders, lesbians, or trans people.
He and the Obots may pretend that they will or he’ll dangle the carrot of LGBT rights in front of us just to get our votes but he won’t actually do a damn thing for LGBT people. Most gay men, bisexuals, lesbians, and trans people I know who I’m friends with who may have voted for him the first time are not going to vote for him again or support him.
ousslander
I love that so many commenters are psychic that they know what Obama is thinking and despite his actions is all just a ploy to get reelected.
If you don’t mind, I’ll take some lotto numbers!
Caliban
I don’t blame Obama. If the 2012 Presidential election becomes a referendum on gay marriage he is likely to lose- that will do far more damage to gay rights than a statement of support would benefit. As usual many gay activists are acting like spoiled Veruca Salts, demanding they get EVERYTHING they want when the only alternative is getting NOTHING.
While it’s true that (according to polls) a slim majority in the US supports marriage equality, much of it is “soft support,” not deeply held conviction. On a scale of one to ten, with one being total opposition and ten being passionate support, many of those gay marriage supporters are only sixes or sevens. There’s an enthusiasm gap between supporters and opponents. It’s not a core conviction with many supporters of marriage equality, more along the lines of “it doesn’t bother me” or “I don’t see why not.” Yeah, they support it but they’re not going to go out of their way to bring it about. In comparison a MUCH larger percentage of marriage equality opponents are firmly committed to that stance and would show up to vote against it.
the crustybastard
@Steve: President Obama is playing politics.
If true, that make him a fucking degenerate. You don’t play politics with someone else’s rights. Ever.
He knows that endorsing “marriage equality”, or “gay marriage”, will bring right-wingers out of the woodwork for the election later this year, but will not bring Democrat supporters out in similar numbers. So, he cannot use those words.
Horseshit. We need to stop buying into this “conventional wisdom” that marriage equality is some kind of political third-rail, because believing it makes it so. Moreover, it isn’t even true. I’ll remind you that of all the members of Congress who voted against DOMA and subsequently stood for re-election NOT ONE was rejected by the majority. ALL were re-elected. In the mid-90s.
Obama’s segregationist approach hasn’t endeared him to a single conservative voter, but it has caused revulsion within Democratic-voting constituencies. Democrats need to quit believing that they can win by just playing defense, and start trying to earn the votes of the millions of disenfranchised progressives who protest-voted for Nader — or the Democrats are going to keep getting “Nadered.” I cannot fathom why they do not comprehend this.
He can and should commit to “equal protection under the law”.
Well…duh.
And to the extent that he does not, Obama’s position is not in opposition to any of the Republican candidates — it is only distinct in the manner by which Obama believes anti-gay discrimination, segregation, and his “separate-but-equal” shit ought to be properly implemented.
Barack Obama is precisely the sort of person MLK was talking about when he wrote, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
christopher di spirito
Our “fiercest advocate” is a fierce pussy. Obama isn’t a leader.
WillBFair
@Caliban: Nicely said. I had forgotten Veruca. But she’s a perfect example of many in this community. I think they’re too self involved to have heard of delayed gratification.
the crustybastard
@WillBFair:
There were a lot of people who imagined themselves wise and pragmatic, who wrote that MLK’s activities “unwise and untimely,” insisted on patience and incrementalism. Their refrain was only ever, “Not now. We should wait. The time isn’t right.”
MLK ignored them.
History has ignored them.
Likewise, you should be ignored.
Timmeeeyyy!!!
So who is the alternative to Obama for the next presidential election? Is there a republican candidate that doesn’t want to actually strip away rights for LGBT citizens?
Kenny
Sometimes I just wonder why Obama hates gay people so much…
MTiffany
I don’t ever need LGBT issues to be the first priority, but I am so fucking sick and tired of us always being last.
the crustybastard
@Timmeeeyyy!!!:
As I already pointed out, both of the major-party candidates share the position that equal protection under the law and due process does not apply to gay Americans, their difference being merely the intensity of discrimination they’re comfortable with.
If you wish to cast your vote for a candidate from a party whose platform has, from its inception, proudly stood for full equality for LGBT people, vote Green.
Or if you’re entirely satisfied with business as usual, you can once again reward and ratify the Democrats’ relentless rush rightward.
WillBFair
@the crustybastard: Nice irrelevant generalizations to misrepresent a specific situation.
Here’s another one. The Rev. Dr. King fired Bayard Rustin. It was a smart strategy at the time. So all gay organizers should be fired from now on.
And you should be ignored. If you want to talk to me, please learn the rules of logic.
WillBFair
@the crustybastard: Vote Green? Looks like someone needs to understand the two party system and basic arithmetic.
CJ
WE ARE WAITING OBAMA. WE’RE NOT SECOND CLASS CITIZENS.
WillBFair
Look, ol’ crustybastard, I know Obama is a certified lying asshole and that he is more concerned with alienating his evangelical black church crowd than sticking it to the frightened little sissies in the GLBT community who are all crap-in-the-pants scared that the big bad Republican wolves will swoop down and eat them all up. I also realize that a white Democrat by the name of Pres. Lyndon Johnson knew that he, President Johnson, would be the cause of a major shift in the political landscape and hurt the Democratic Party in the South for generations to come if he supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act for Black people — but he did it anyway. Sadly, that is something asshole Obama would not have the moral courage to do for us.
So, on second thought, I agree with you. Why vote for a degenerate closet-bigot like Obama? Stand on principle and vote GREEN. There is nothing in the US Constitution that says we are obligated to be only a two party system. Nothing at all.
Why reward betrayal? The only thing that you will get is more disrespect and further betrayal. And no one respects anyone who does not demand respect — especially someone who does not tell their phony so-called “friends” (with their outstretched hands for money and votes) to fuck off until they can prove their much over-vaulted “friendship” and support with tangible results– not just empty promises.
The Democrats had massive majorities in both the House and the Senate. Where was ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act)? It didn’t even get a vote on the floor. Where was the repeal of DOMA? The same. And DADT was put off until the Obama administration already lost twice in federal court while DEFENDING DADT, as well as DOMA, for two years.
Just imagine how supportive GW Bush’s base would be if he spent two years defending Roe v Wade and abortion rights as well as using his Justice Department to support gun control legislation. It wouldn’t happen. But cowardly homos are the Democratic Party’s reliable lap dogs who take a beating and just keep crawling back for more.
Pathetic! …just pathetic!
hassia
Having read the comments I am surprised there is not a revolt on capital hill. Right it is easier to be an arm chair politician. “I hate being a second class citizen”, tell that to the new persona non grata, Hispanics. Obama is not defending DOMA which is major you see his job as president is to defend the law. Let us not use the executive order ploy. That can be stripped if another President with an opposing view enters the Whitehouse.
“But, unfortunately, black surpasses and supercedes gay bigot”. I will just assume you are not black because anyone with a brain would recoil at such blatant naivety.
In closing Patrick Murphy lost his seat last election he was and still is a fierce gay ally. Where were all of you during the elections, right sitting in your arm chair complaining. Obama/Biden 2012. I look forward to see some of you becoming the RIGHT political candidate, that gets EVERYTHING done that you promised.
No-Obot
@ No. 28 · hassia – Quit being a pathetic Obamasskisser. Executive orders are given all of time. Obama is no stranger to using Executive orders when it benefits him. The issuance of his Executive order to halt the discharges of hundreds of brave fighting men and women during a time of two wars (and while a repeal was being ironed out) would have saved hundreds of Gay and Lesbian military personnel the disgrace of being discharged because of DADT as well as saving their jobs. So your pathetic excuses for Obama just prove that you are full of shit.
Also, Obama and his cronies in the (in)Justice Department defended DOMA and DADT for two years even after losing in federal court numerous times — yet, he kept defending institutionalized bigotry, just like GW Bush would have done. Now, being the scumbag two-faced swine that Obama is, he turns over DOMA’s defence now to the Republican controlled house when the cowardly DEMS could have done something to repeal it in the two years they had power but, instead, they and Obama worked against our best interest. So, pull your head out of your ass and do a reality check once in a while, “hassia”.
You also stupidly wrote: ““I hate being a second class citizen”, tell that to the new persona non grata, Hispanics..” Uh, really? You better look up the word CITIZEN in the dictionary if you are referring to illegal border-jumpers here you have no case to be made. But if you are referring to legal American citizens of Hispanic origins or ancestry, then you still have no case to make because if they are heterosexual they have full civil rights and protections. Again, you are full of shit.
Lastly, the vast, vast majority of gay people do not live in Pat Murphy’s district and could not vote for him, and all of the out-of-state campaign contributions could not have saved him as Obama did nothing to try to help him get re-elected, dumb ass. Obama’s only hope to get himself re-elected was to rely on Bill Clinton’s political playbook and hope the opposing party wins in the mid-terms so they can share the blame for all of the fuck-ups in Washington as well.
Every self-respecting GLBT person should show the same duplicity and lack of support for the DEMS and for Obama as they have shown to us. If you reward betrayal, then you just encourage it. If the DEMS want our votes, then they will just have to EARN it — it is not an automatic entitlement for any Democratic politician just because we are GAY!
Grow a pair already, will you!
jason
Obama’s evolution on gay marriage is non-existent. It’s simply a ruse to get us to vote for him again. No thanks.
Queer Supremacist
Evolution is a slow process that takes millions of years. It still moves faster than President NDAA.